Monday, July 16, 2007

Protests shut Starbucks in Beijing's imperial palace

China's imperial palace has closed its Starbucks outlet following protests led by a state television personality against the American coffee chain's presence at a major Chinese cultural site.

The small outlet, a popular resting spot for visitors to the sprawling Forbidden City in central Beijing, closed yesterday afternoon, the Beijing Morning Post and other newspapers reported.

The Starbucks opened in 2000 at the invitation of palace managers, but critics said it was inappropriate for the site.

Palace managers offered Starbucks the option of continuing to operate as part of a combined coffeehouse with other brands but the Seattle-based company declined, the Post said.

AP - SMH July 14, 2007 - 2:58PM

posted at

2 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 16, 2007 6:18 PM

    AHHHHHHHHHHH!

    How fucking inappropriate... OMG, that is soooo irreverant and I hope that anybody who entered endured a plague or something nasty, locusts etc.

    ReplyDelete
  2. DataceptionistJuly 17, 2007 8:51 AM

    I know, what is the expression- you can't stop Progress?? Well in this case, they did. I wonder if the McDonalds next door will get the hint.....

    ReplyDelete

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